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A lighthouse for STEM teacher education and training in Europe

Professional Development Activities

The ICSE Academy offers different opportunities for professional development for in- and pre-service teachers. The three main activties, jobshadowing, workshops and summer schools, bring together STEM teacher students, teacher educators and teachers from across different cultural backgrounds. This enhaces mobility and collaboration across Europe. You can find out more about the activities and how to participate below.

Jobshadowing

Peer-learning

We facilitate peer- learning through jobshadowing: CPD-providers and ITE-educators from different countries attend each other’s courses to learn for each other.

This gives teacher educators the opportunity to observe and experience practices of their European colleagues. Jobshadowing can be done online, so it does not require traveling requirements.

Teacher educators can, based on their observation of the session, reflect on their own practice, and shape it. Then they can convey obtained knowledge to teachers in both ITE and CPD sessions and share the best practices in order to:

  • actively engage teachers
  • provide teachers with innovative teaching methods (such as inquiry-based learning, applications to real life)
  • make the European priorities and bringing in multi-country, multi-disciplinary perspectives on these topics.

ICSE Academy European Jobshadowing, is one of three Professional learning strategies.

Jobshadowing gives teachers a first insight into the European dimension without language or travelling requirements.

Give teachers best practice examples focusing on

  • actively engaging teachers
  • innovative teaching methods (such as inquiry-based learning, applications to real life);
  • European priorities and bringing in multi-country, multi-disciplinary perspectives on these
    topics.

UJA, Spain

Job Shadowing session on STEM Education for Environmental Citizenship

Led by UJA 20 February 2023

Challenging our ideas about how to best use STEM education to generate highly committed and well-informed environmental citizens. Thank you to colleagues from Cyprus, The Netherland Austria and Spain for joining this stimulating job-shadowing session as part of the ICSE Teacher Academy.

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Summary of the job shadowing session led by UJA on 20 February 2023

The job shadowing session started by discussing a recent new about climate change crisis and emphasizing the key role of education in general, and STEM education in particular, to unveil our whole potential as human beings to address current societal and environmental challenges. After doing some interactive activities to explore and exchange initial ideas about how to significantly influence students’ knowledge, values and behaviours about STEM and sustainability, we had a look at the specialised literature to find out what are the key features of effective educational interventions. Finally, we discussed a case of a school community project aimed at designing an eco-park as an inspiring example showing synergies between STEM education and education for environmental citizenship.

NTNU, Norway

360 degree virtual field work from the center of Trondheim

Using a mobile office solution, streaming live from Trondheim city center.

In the walls` calcium-stone, there are 400-million-year-old fossils

Virtual field trip from the center of Trondheim (PDF)

A lesson on the topic inquiry-based learning

Tuesday 26th September 2023 teacher educators from Sweden, Turkey and Lithuania took part in job shadowing at NTNU, Trondheim, Norway. Ragnhild Staberg held a lesson on the topic inquiry-based learning, more precisely questioning and exploratory talk, for her pre-service students. Parts of the lesson will be transformed and implemented in Sweden during this autumn.

Malta

Sequencing a science lesson

Thursday 26th October 2023 Josette Farrugia held an online session for her student teachers. The topic was “Sequencing a science lesson”, and Ragnhild Lyngved Staberg from Norway took part as an external observer. Parts of the session will now be transferred to Norwegian pre-service teachers.

CPU, Slovakia

From March 1-7, 2023, Assoc. PaedDr. Janka Medová, PhD. and Mgr. Silvia Haringová from the Department of Mathematics of the Faculty of Mathematics of the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra took part in an unusual activity. They spent a stimulating week at the Department of Mathematics of the National and Kapodastrian University of Athens in Greece. They participated in the activities of prof. Despina Potari and Dr. Nikolaos Metaxas, especially the sessions of professional development for mathematics teachers using the lesson study method. In lesson study, four steps are cyclically repeated: (1) studying, (2) planning the lesson, (3) implementing and observing the planned lesson, and (4) reflecting on the implementation. During the week in Athens, the participants engaged in all the steps of one cycle with a group of mathematics teachers who have been working together for about three months.

The planned activities had to be modified due to the unrest caused by the tragic train collision that occurred just before their arrival.

On Thursday morning, they attended a working meeting of the team that implements professional development for mathematics teachers using the lesson study method, which Silvia is focusing on in her dissertation. Afterwards, they prepared a MathCityMap trail in the Department’s facilities. Later, they attended a tutorial for first year mathematics teacher education students on set theory. In the afternoon they participated in lesson planning as part of a lesson study.

Friday and Saturday’s schedule was modified because the students completely blocked the entrance to the university as part of the protests. The seminar for PhD students was therefore held online from the living room of prof. Desipina Potari. Janka and Silvia presented to the participants the activities they are carrying out in Nitra within national and international projects and their adaptation of the lesson study model. The model was adapted by them to the national specificities of Slovakia and to work with the MatCityMap system and mathematical trails. Due to the weather and the unavailability of working spaces at the university, further consultations for Silvia’s dissertation took place outdoors.

Monday was spent by both job-shadowing participants at the Joint Experimental School in Piraeus, assisted and interpreted by colleagues and students of the Athens Department of Mathematics. They observed students proving selected properties of triangles during the lessons scheduled for Thursday’s meeting.

On Tuesday, they participated in an on-line teachers’ reflection on the lesson implemented. The teachers had many thought-provoking insights. Both participants actively participated in the discussion.

The described job-shadowing was created by a combination of work in several projects. Within the KEGA project Cooperation as a means of professional development of mathematics teachers Silvia and Janka are carrying out a lesson study not only about mathematical trails and within the international project ICSE Academy there was an opportunity to consult their work with a leading world expert. The cooperation is not over, colleagues from Athens are planning to participate in online meetings with Slovak teachers.

Author Janka Medová

Photographer Silvia Haringová

The European Workshop Series

The European Workshop Series is the core of the ICSE Academy Project

The European workshop series is an online workshop series on European key priorities emphasizing the European dimension of teaching. Target groups are pre-service and in-service teachers

The focus of this workshop series is bringing participants up to date in research and teaching in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in connection with European priorities such as fostering sustainability, digital skills and intercultural learning.

You can find more information here:

Workshop series course guide (PDF)

Read more about the workshop and the schedule in the flyer (docx file)

If you are interested in participating in the European Workshop Series of the ICSE Academy please register by the given deadline.

Cluster 1: Tools and approaches to deal with sustainability issues in STEM education. Please register by February 26th the latest

Cluster 2: Diversity and inclusion in STEM. Please register by April 9th the latest

Cluster 3: STEM in digital era. Please register by April 30th the latest

Cluster 4: Innovative assessment in STEM education. Please register by May 21st the latest.

National workshop

Norwegian in-service-teachers participated at workshop with the topic programming

  • Interdisciplinary workshop with programming of an irrigation system
  • A humidity sensor and a water pump regulate supplies water for irrigation of crops
Worskshop with teachers. Photo

Summer Schools

Summer School in Prague, Czechia (June 28 - July 5, 2024)

‘The focus of this STEM Education Summer School is bringing participants up to date in research and teaching practices in the field of the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and refreshing and deepening the knowledge of meaningful and relevant educational practices.

Topics will include:

  • inquiry-based learning and interdisciplinarity
  • cultural diversity and inclusion
  • connections to sustainable development goals (SDGs)
  • use and impact of technology on STEM education

The summer school offers a blend of lectures, seminars and workshops on educational research and towards the diverse interests of student-teachers, doctoral students, teachers, teacher educators and researchers.

Further information

Credits (3 ECTS) will be provided by Faculty of Education Charles University.

The goals of this summer school are an increased awareness with regards to diversity in STEM education and to values such as sustainability and inclusivity in STEM classrooms, an enrichment of thematic knowledge and practical skills, and first-hand intercultural experiences.

Summerschool in Utrecht, Netherland (21-25 August 2023)

The ICSE Academy Summer School 2023 was organized by the Freudenthal Institute of the Faculty of Science of Utrecht University in collaboration with ICSE Academy. 49 enthusiastic pre- and in-service teachers from several countries participated the Summer School 2023. The goals of the summer school was an increased awareness with regards to diversity in STEM education and to values such as sustainability and inclusivity in STEM classrooms, an enrichment of thematic knowledge and practical skills, and first-hand intercultural experiences.

The focus of the STEM Education summer school was on bringing participants up to date in research and teaching practices in the field of the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and refreshing and deepening the knowledge of meaningful and relevant educational practices. Topics included inquiry-based learning and interdisciplinarity, cultural diversity and inclusion, connections to sustainable development goals (SDGs), and the use and impact of technology on STEM education.

The participants were able to attend activities and workshops on the following topics:

  • Diversity and inclusion
  • Socio-scientific issues and inquiry based learning
  • Computational thinking and gamification
  • Giftedness, scaffolding, language
  • Inquiry in mathematical contexts
  • Interactive, problem based activities
  • International interactions and contexts

 

You can find more information about the programm by downloading the flyer:

Summer School 2023 Flyer

More informations about the participants:

proSTEM is co-funded by the European Union under grant no. 101052670. Neither the European Union/European Commission nor the Granting Authority EACEA are responsible for the content; nor are they liable for any losses or damage resulting of the use of these websites and its published resources.

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